July 27, 2009

President Obama Meets with Disability Leaders

From the JFA Moderator: The following is SUMMARY was prepared by the individuals who attended a small meeting with President Obama to discuss Disability Policy Priorities on Friday, July 24. This conversation with disability leadership is an important first step for the President and the Disability Community to work together toward fulfilling the promise of the ADA: equality of opportunity, full participation, independent living, and economic self-sufficiency. The Justice for All Action Network (JFAAN) was pleased to have several members of its steering committee involved in this conversation and hopes future meetings will be even more inclusive of the leaders of the national organizations representing the major disability groups run by persons with disabilities.

SUMMARY

On July 24, President Obama invited a group of 12 representatives of the disability community to meet privately with him and other Administration officials in advance of an East Room ceremony marking the 19th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and his announcement of the Administration’s decision to sign and seek Senate ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Attending the meeting for the disability community were Polly Arango of Family Voices; Marca Bristo of the US International Council on Disabilities and Access Living of Metropolitan Chicago; Kelly Buckland of the National Council on Independent Living; former Congressman Tony Coelho; Michael Fitzpatrick of the National Alliance on Mental Illness; Marty Ford of the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities and The Arc and UCP Disability Policy Collaboration; Andy Imparato of AAPD; Ted Kennedy, Jr. of the AAPD Board and The Marwood Group; Michael May of the Sendero Group, a technology company; Maria Veronica Reina of the Global Partnership for Disability and Development; Jeff Rosen of Snap!VRS, a video relay and technology company; and Bob Williams of the District of Columbia, former Deputy Assistant Secretary for Disability and Long-Term Care Policy at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Joining the President at the meeting were Attorney General Eric Holder; Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis; Melody Barnes, Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy; Assistant to the President and Cabinet Secretary Chris Lu; Kareem Dale, Special Assistant to the President for Disability Policy; Paul Miller, Special Assistant to the President for Personnel; Lisa Brown, Staff Secretary to the President; Michael Strautmanis, Chief of Staff to Valerie Jarrett; Jeff Crowley, Director of the White House Office of National AIDS Policy and Senior Advisor on Disability Issues to the Domestic Policy Council; Tina Tchen, Director of the Office of Public Engagement; and Kathy Martinez, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Disability Employment Policy.

The disability community representatives engaged in a productive dialogue with Attorney General Holder and Secretary Solis before the President arrived, discussing our priorities for civil rights enforcement at both departments, including but not limited to internet accessibility, Olmstead enforcement, reducing the waiting period for ADA complaints to be resolved, using OFCCP to enforce the affirmative action provisions in the Rehabilitation Act, protecting children from the use of aversives and restraints; and implementing a government-wide strategy to improve the representation of people with significant disabilities in the federal workforce. Both Holder and Solis were very interested in continuing the discussion in follow-up meetings with disability community representatives in the weeks to come.

When the President arrived, he noted that we had a wide-ranging agenda that included employment, education, technology, health care, and civil rights policy, and indicated his interest in using this first meeting as a listening session. We thanked him for the meeting and for his leadership in signing the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, we emphasized the importance of seeing disability policy issues as fundamentally about fairness, civil rights and human rights. We shared some personal discrimination stories and expressed our desire to work with the White House and agencies across the administration on a broad-based strategy to make progress between now and next July 26, which will be the 20th anniversary of the ADA. A significant portion of our time with the President was devoted to health care reform and the need to end the institutional bias in Medicaid, and the President offered to have Nancy-Ann DeParle and Peter Orszag and other members of his health reform team sit down with us in the next few weeks to discuss our ideas, including making the Community Choice Act a state option as part of the final bill that emerges from Congress.

The disability community representatives came away believing that the President, his cabinet representatives, and his senior White House staff are committed to working with our community to achieve the goals of the Americans with Disabilities Act. We look forward to following up on all of the issues discussed at the meeting. All in all, we felt that this historic meeting represented a very important step forward for our community and for the country.

Comment Below: Was this an appropriate way for President Obama to celebrate this significant event with our community? What are your hopes for or concerns about the UN Convention? Do you think the disability leadership addressed appropriate issues? Who would you select as representatives for the disability community?

It's great to hear that the President took the opportunity to meet w/ leaders from the disability community and used the time to mostly listen. Especially since all that has happened over the past four months with the ADAPT arrests and virtually any Democratic lawmaker refusing to sit down face to face with the disability community to discuss these important issues. Great progress and thank you for the update. However, I don't really understand how the CCA would work as a state "option." States already have the option of whether or not to provide HCBS and it is that option we are trying to get rid of so that states have to provide HCBS no matter what, not just if they want to.

If there was no White House committment - flat out - to end school abuse of children with disabilities via use of restraints and seclusion, as far as I'm concerned, the meeting was a bust.

You can tell a lot about how a society treats its most powerless individuals. All things considered, kids w/disabilities are at the bottom of our societal heap and ... . I for one will not be satisfied one whit unless and until there is an up front, overt White House committment to ending this abuse. Period. Now!

Last week the USDOJ announced a $500 million settlement of a NYS school Medicaid fraud case. The NYS Education Dept., which created and operated the fraudulent Medicaid claiming scheme, also specifically authorized "strangling," "hurling" and a host of other felonies when done to disabled children age 3-21 in NY schools in 2006 via "aversive behavioral intervention" regulations. Strangling! Yes. Strangling.

There's a connection here between states and districts which seek to profit off these children and states and districts which abuse them. It's time to stop the abuse and send the people who do the Medicaid special education fraud to jail. Civil penalties are inadequate.

And as for holding those who specifically authorized "strangling" disabled children in schools in NYS accountable for their overt, up front crimes ... . What can I say? Strangling is a felony in every state in the Union. State govt. officials who specifically authorize and encourage strangling ... are felons.

As long as people who authorize, encourage or profit from abusing disabled children in schools are allowed to walk around scott free, the abuse won't stop and more children will die. GAO's May 2009 study of school restraint and seclusion abuse pointed out that half the teachers it found had killed disabled children in school were still teaching.

Enough is too much, and we haven't even gotten to the "enough, yet" stage. One more disabled child killed in an American school; one more teacher who kills a disabled child in a school walking around still able to teach - and abuse - and ... it's time for some serious civil disobedience, nu?

I would have liked to see more representation from the blind community. I am also frustrated that the larger pan-disability community often focuses primarily on the needs of certain types of disabilities over others.

I suggest Dr. Fred Schroeder, who was the Commissioner of the Rehabilitation Services Administration at the Department of Ed under Bill Clinton. He is also the 1st Vice-President of the National Federation of the Blind and a research professor at San Diego State University. He is very knowledgeable, articulate, and would be a great asset to your team.

I was very pleased to see that the President was interested in discussing matters involving people with disabilities. However, I saw nothing on the abuse, neglect, and criminal victimization of people with disabilities...children, adults, elders. This aspect of life effects everything: mental health, physical health, ability to learn, work, function! I sincerely hope that the next meetings will include this essential aspect of life, that is, the increased experience of crime victimization by people with disabilities (including while in hospital, schools, work programs, transportation for example). I would be glad to participate in providing background on the topic or participating in future meetings.
Nora J. Baladerian, Ph.D., Director, Disability, Abuse & Personal Rights Project

The meeting that took place on the 24th, was an essential one; with the voices of the disability community being heard.
Hopefully, the President and his staff will see then, the Community Choice Act is the most important part of the equation for the
future and well-being of a person with a disability.The next step however, is to make the (CCA) a federal law; universal for everyone.

I'm afraid they were duped. It's one thing to say, "I support you." and quite another to proffer a health care plan that disallows general care to elderly and people with disabilities. Look at what he DOES, not just what he says.

I think it's great that the meeting happened. I also believe it was an opportunity lost to address the issue of violence against people with disabilities in this country. Brownridge (Partner Violence Against Women with Disabilities, 2006) states that Women with disabilities
rank violence issues as their prime health priority. A recent survey of the women in United Spinal Association noted that the number one concern of women survey was domestic abuse. We at Barrier Free Living have been working in the field since 1986 and are beginning to see some work being done by DOJ on a national scale, but the resources devoted to the issue do not address the depth of the problem.

I am glad that they sat down to TALK. But as the mother of three autistic children one of whom was beaten, refused food and restroom, locked in a closet just to name a few of the cruel acts done to a then 5 yr old little girl. When will they just do more then TALK??? Everyday we have thousands of unheard children crying out for the very same officials who say they care and beg for the parents vote, they sit by quietly NEVER hearing. How many more children must suffer? It is illegal in the United States of America to harm an animal yet it is LEGAL for teachers to harm our children, when do we in the United States put more priority on our children then our animals?

Will these discussions move us toward a simple enforcement of ADA? I am struggling with the knowledge from the Office of Civil Rights in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, that said the federal government has 'grandfathered' out the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) (1991) restroom requirements for those business persons in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, who are getting federal funds to rebuild/remodel their flood-damaged businesses. This is disheartening and frustrates me and others who simply wish to use a restroom after spending our money for lunch at Hacienda Los Glorios on 1st Ave., CR, or buy a beer at Ernies Ave. Tavern in Czech Village. These rebuilt/remodeled buildings were beautifully redone withOUT handicapped restrooms, BECAUSE the government said they did not have to meet the guidelines of the ADA with the federal funds they were given. This is true for all CR businesses rebuilding/remodeling flood-damaged buildings with our federal tax dollars.

Anyone in or outside of Iowa can contact Senator Harkins with a short email. Consider mentioning how the soldiers coming home with amputations and paralyses will be smacked in the face by this outrageousness. Perhaps our letter should show the absurdity by asking them to require that all businesses that do not meet the ADA requirements post this on their entry doors: ALL PATRONS MAY SPEND YOUR MONEY HERE, BUT ONLY ABLE-BODIED PERSONS MAY USE OUR RESTROOMS. (Very 1960's). At least THEN we would know in advance not to support that business!

Those of you outside of Iowa might also contact your own Senators--found by state at the following link.

Please forward this to all your friends whom you think would be activist enough to take a minute to express concern for the returning vets--and for me. I'm sure there are untold numbers of businesses across the nation that are the same. People have no idea the frustration it causes to be otherwise ABLE to do what one wants--if only the barriers would be removed. Most barriers are simple problems to solve--and not as costly as those who refuse to make them would like the public to believe. It will take those of us with disabilites--PLUS our able-bodied friends who care--to show business owners that they WILL lose significant income if they don't do the right thing.

I think we need a revolution & picketers on this one! :) Actually, would you boycott these places for a time to make a point? Consider asking as you go into a business if they have handicapped accessible restrooms--and LEAVE immediately if they don't! Again, if they realize a loss in their incomes, they will make the changes.

They put men on the moon FORTY years ago, and I can't use a restroom?

I am condidering a lawsuit to see if that would bring about enforcement. Why bother Internationally if the US can't do it?
I appreciate anything you are willing to do to help out, Sharon

I agree with Dee, as far as I'm concerned, this meeting was a bust; basically smoke and mirrors. Children with disabilities in NYS are still swept aside and being harmed in schools on so many levels. After seeing my very own child harmed by a "teacher" in my own home and seeing her walk away scott free was a lesson for me. Not a lesson about justice, but injustice. Not a lesson about hope, but about fear. For the children who cannot speak, or see, or hear.. we must stand strong to protect them and keep the path clear for them to navigate through this world the best they can. I'm tired of believing that politicians have our best interests at heart, it just isn't so. The medicaid fraud and the cover up that ensued is the tip of the iceberg.

Bravo to President Obama and our disability leadership that met with him! I see it as a very positive first step...and even more so because he was smart enough to listen. AND IT SOUNDS LIKE IT SUNK IN! (Did anyone notice his mention of the importance of "mental health parity in health care" at yesterday's town meeting? To paraphrase him, he noted that "Sometimes having a mental illness like depression can be more serious than having a broken arm...and that most people are not aware of that.")

I prefer to focus on and work towards the possibilities of reforming our mental health system (the YES WE CAN) than only complain about what's missing!

To all concerned:
Although this all sounds very well and good, there seems to be no solution or avenue to turn.
I suffered with anxiey in Aug. 2008, and returned to work (after being not fit for duty) with a psychiatric's approval in Sept. 2008.
However, my symptoms returned and I was able to receive FMLA in April and Leave without pay.
Unfortunately, I have been unable to work, am living with friends, and am still unable to get answers from Social Security or Transportation Security Administration on what is happening. I finally contacted Steve G. (Ombudsman), but he stated he needed information from my airport and suggested if I did not allow him to contact the airport, he would have to talk to Washington in regards to this. I'm feeling quite intimidated, but gave him my approval. All I want to do is somehow work and support myself instead of seeing myself added to those who are homeless. 407-432-5300 is the contact number. I have gone to every available resource known to me......

I am very interested in the employment corridor of this meeting! I live in North Carolina where " employment dicrimination" is hidden by the " good old boy " network of only hiring your relatives and not allowing a competent , disabled individual , a chance to train , as well as recieve hands on instruction to fulfill a substatial , meaningful ,line of employment that would ultimately lead to independant self sufficiency. Do not think for a second work force disability does not exsist, it is alive and thriving in western North Carolina!!!!!!

Frankie Mastrangelo is the moderator for both the Justice For All (JFA) national email listerv as well as for the JFActivist blog. She is also an organizer for the American Association of People with Disabilities in Washington, D.C.